The dock walls to which the invention pertains are of the type constructed by Reinforced Earth Company Ltd. and known as Reinforced Earth (Trade-mark) wall structures. These structures are comprised of a plurality of wall panels (pieces). For seawalls they are typically rectangular in shape and about 12 ft. in length and 6' high, with a plurality of earth reinforcing strips installed in and extending perpendicularly from each panel. To form a wall structure using these panels a single row of such panels are positioned on the ground, and backfill is placed behind the panels to surround and cover the earth reinforcing strips. The friction between the earth reinforcing strips and the backfill creates a tensile force on them which holds the wall panels in position; some stabilization of the panels is necessary during the tensioning of the earth reinforcing strips and, consequently, the panels must be free to move, to a limited extent, along the directional line of the earth reinforcing strips during the stabilization period. Additional layers of panels are then installed, one layer over the other, in like manner to the foregoing until the desired wall height has been accomplished. However, for the construction of such walls in the water to form docks or seawalls this method is expensive, complex and, in the case of high walls not practically workable (since, by the foregoing method used for land, single layers of relatively low height are installed separately, one after the other).
The present invention provides a new approach to building such docks and seawall structures, using the Reinforced Earth (Trade-mark) method of wall retention, which simplifies and reduces construction costs and enables the construction of greater wall heights.